Home Sweet Home (and a bunch of other stuff)

I know, I know - you were expecting Sean's Christening Part II. But a lot of other things have happened since I "Heismanned" my son at his baptism, so I thought I'd move on. For more pics of the Christening, go here.

So, we are finally settling in to our new home in North Carolina. I finally got Bean and the boys to pose for the pic in front of the house - there is a shot of them and the whole house and a close-up of them on the front stoop. And while we miss our family and friends - well, basically everybody....we do love it here. Except for the bugs - like the one at the right. Luckily, while it is a big sucker, it is non-poisonous and does make pretty (and large) webs - unlike the Black Widows and Brown Recluses we have down here - which I have yet to see (and we have fire ants, so until we get our quarterly spray contract, don't go barefoot in the backyard). By the way,the Charlotte Hornets must be named after the GI-normous ones that hang out on our back porch.

The bugs are about the only bad thing about the place, and I'm told we'll get used to it (I'm also told that barbeque is not a verb down here, but I don't know if I can wrap my head around it). Since Bean started work the same day the mov ers came with our stuff, Bean's sister Denise came down to help us move in and that went well. No, really. She also brought our cat down with her - doped to the gills, of course (the cat, not Denise). Here she is with her nephews as our cat Pretty looks on - and yes, Loch thinks the TV remote is a phone. The cat now has less places to hide as it is a more open floor plan - Loch chases her down much more easily now that he can get behind the couch. Also, he doesn't seem to tire, so I have often seen the cat just reluctantly laying on the floor resting and accepting his "petting".

Speaking of Loch, we've got a new behavior and a new skill that have emerged the minute we got down her. The skill: opening doors that have round door knobs! No room can hold him - or keep him out! I have learned to lock the bathroom door, but he learned that if he bangs long and hard enough, I'll just let him in.


The other thing that is new is Loch's new "comfort toy". In the past, he has loved and needed to carry around a certain item that gave him comfort - like a blankie - but this was in addition to Blankie. The Big 3 have been a yellow shovel, a blue chair, and of course, the barrel of pickled herring that looks like a cupcake - or a "Happy Birthday" cake - that is now known as "happy".
Now, perhaps riffing off of the old shovel / spatula (oh yeah - a spatula and the shovel were interchangeable), Lochlain has decided that he needs plastic spoons. He carries them everywhere - the more the merrier. He even takes them to bed - though Daddy removes them once he is asleep. But dang if he don't love them spoons!

And let's not forget Seanie-boy. He's not gonna be a Binky-Boy like his brother. Nope - y'see, he's found his thumb. AND HE LOVES IT! So I will leave you with a quick pic of Sean sucking his thumb. Hopefully, I will get everyone to take a pic for the spot above this weekend.......